Before you set about conquering the DL Ukrainian tree

This Ukrainian course may seem difficult if you are not at all familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet. Therefore, prior to taking it we recommend you to utilize another resource.

The resource we are going to share with you here was originally developed for Peace Corps volunteers without any Slavic language background. It consists of audio files, a supplementary PDF script and flashcards. There are 5 units broken down into lessons. Units 1-4 let you practice the alphabet. Unit 5 has some basic useful phrases

The approach we use in the language script will help you to easily start reading Ukrainian words and phrases. First you see the familiar looking/sounding letters and words that can be made of these letters. And then you string new letters and words, practicing alphabet and building your vocabulary. To some extent we tried to use this approach in our Duolingo course, but because of randomization system, lack of single word audio and some other limitations it’s not engaged fully.

There are no grammar topics in these lessons. After Unit 4 there is short information about the grammar items you come across in this course. You get to know more grammar in Tips and Notes while doing the Ukrainian tree here.

You will need a device that can read PDF format, a player to listen to the audio and (optional) an installed mobile app to work with digital flashcards (links to AppleStore and GoogleStore provided). Or you can choose to print out the flashcards (also included).

We hope these materials will help you get a head start in learning the language.

Please note: to proceed to Duolingo Ukrainian you need to have the keyboard installed. This has been discussed here already; we will just put the how-to notes and links one more time (thank you again to all who contributed to this research!)

131 Comments

Here's something else I found really helpful when I first started Ukrainian: A Ukrainian touch-typing practice page. http://www.typingstudy.com/en-ukrainian-3/ It has other languages/keyboard formats as well. :)

EDIT: Ah, okay, I see what you mean now. If you click on the language in the list it turns to that language. The link I just added should work the way you want it to (note in the address it has "en" for English and Ukrainian) :) Sorry about the mix up!

I started by using the GoUkrainian keyboard on my Android phone to become familiar with the keyboard layout. Then I installed Ukrainian on my laptop and created two hot-keys to switch between keyboard layouts. Within a few week I have become proficient in touch-typing in Ukrainian.

I switched to the more-efficient Dvorak keyboard layout for English a while ago. I am starting to find that lessons are not necessarily the best/only way to learn a new keyboard layout. Although they help, you can learn most of the locations of the keys in an hour or two without any lessons. You just have to force yourself to not look at the keys, and then just start typing things (but not random letters, deliberate typing is required). I have had no training, and I am starting to become pretty good at touch-typing Cyrillic just by doing these lessons with a bit of practice on the side when I'm bored. It's frustrating at first, but after typing without looking for a while, you get used to it. Of course, it's hard to type anything without knowing the language, so you may have to wait until you know the language better to really learn to type well.

Hello there! If someone has a problem switching keyboard layouts, I recommend to pay attention to this Google Chrome extension that will allow you to answer the questions without having to constantly change your keyboard: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/8864924

I very like know more about different countries. In this time I know foreing languages bed, but my wish is travel in whole world. I want to be a diplomat. Please, brothers europeans, help us in war, You all should be know that we have a good memory and our children, grandchildren, and we ourselves will remember you and help you in the future. I am fourteen, and I live in small village, but i know death, many children now are orphan throuth this war. I write it, becouse i want to find a mirror of my soul.

My friend Роман from Skype and Duolingo, showed me a trick for a Windows machine. Once you have your keyboard layouts loaded (I have EN, UK, RU) just press [alt][shift] to toggle between the texts. Very fast!

Was going to write this. It's hard af to learn the keyboard layout without being able to see the keys. You can either buy some stickers of eBay (did this, they were fingers' fat magnets and got off pretty easily - not good if you use the keyboard for gaming, etc) or use your smartphone's keyboard until you can write ❤❤❤❤❤/ukrani without looking at it (like you SHOULD be able to do in the Roman one).

I used a Tippex pen to write the letters on my keyboard - a little less messy than stickers as they tend to slide leaving glue on the keys. I have to redo some characters every 3 weeks or so, but that's no big deal.

Thanks for sharing. I have enjoyed learning Ukrainian and I want to keep building my skills. Perhaps someday, I will be able to visit Ukraine.
My name is Jeffrey. I am from the United States, but my ancestors were Ukrainian. Drop me a line if you would like to chat in Ukrainian.

Ha that's funny. That is also why I started delving into Ukrainian. My name is also Jeffrey, and I am also from the united states. My ancestors are also from the Ukraine......whoa. Maybe we are the same person in 2 parallel dimensions.... :)

You might get a kick out of this. Since Jeffrey is an uncommon name (at least where I come from), I have always joked with other people that I knew when there were other "Jeffs" around (almost like a sixth sense). It probably sounds stupid, but it is just something that came to mind.

Worked through the Peace Corps pre-arrival Ukrainian in conjunction with DuoLingo and loved combination of printed scripts, audio and exercises. Having completed that I'm floundering a bit as there is no backup for the DuoLingo exercises, so will probably continue my learning with the peace corps next level 'survival Ukrainian' but hope to revisit later.

Токар literally means "turner, machinist" (https://goo.gl/Ijg1nK). But this job is quite a "new" one, so it's unlikely that your last name came from the name of this profession.

There are two possible versions. One is that people used to call "токар" a person who sharpened different tools (knives, scythes) and the other one is that it's what people used to call a grouse (the bird, it's nowadays called тетерук)

Hi there. Since you seem to be great at deciphering names, could you maybe help me out. I am also of Ukrainian heritage and have just started learning Ukrainian on here a few weeks ago. My last name is spelled in English as Yaworski. Maybe яворски or something like that? Do you have any idea what that means?

Hey, my mother is from Kiev, but doesn't speak Ukranian. Her maiden name is Talalay. Any clue as to where it comes from or what it means? It could also be spelled Талалаі or Талалаї or something like that, I'm not quite sure. Any help is greatly appreciated! :)

Would it be reasonable to incorporate a primer on the Cyrillic alphabet into the actual course. The learning structure that Duolingo uses would work well with learning and being able to remember the alphabet, and it would eliminate the need for having to carry around multiple learning sources when on the go.

To some extent we tried to use this approach in our Duolingo course, but because of randomization system, lack of single word audio and some other limitations it’s not engaged fully.

The first three skills are actually Letters 1, 2, and 3, it's just that Duolingo's structure is not optimized for teaching this particular type of material, and so it may not be sufficient for teaching that.

completely agree - 2 years on I am surprised there is no alphabet instruction despite the first three levels being called "letters" I would not be able to participate here had I not already been learning Ukrainian elsewhere for a few years.

I find that it's much easier to find an online ukrainian keyboard and type the text in as for example: https://www.branah.com/ukrainian and then copy/paste to duolingo. I find it much more convenient than switching it on my mac. It's been challenging to learn cyrylic alphabet but it's rewarding to be able to spell in the actual language, rather than phonetically. Ukrainian course is excellent and I admire all who put in so much work to make it possible. Дякую!

I don't know about macs, but on Linux, I have it set so that pressing Left Alt+Left Shift switches between layouts. There should be a similar settings somewhere on your computer, being that this option is also available on Windows. It makes it very easy to switch. I can't imagine having to switch tabs back and forth every time you want to type in Cyrillic. I would really recommend looking into this. If you get it working, everything will be дуже добре :D

Almost gave up on the Duolingo course before I found this - it is a huge help. Also well worth looking at more material from the Peace Corps on Ukrainian language http://www.101languages.net/ukrainian/ukrainian-peace-corps-course/.
Tried the Flash Cards Deluxe on my tablet but the recommended flashcard files downloaded seemed to be empty.

I also use a Mac and there is a switch. It is just to the right of where it says "Tips & notes." If it is not there it is possible it uses Flash. Apple no longer installs Flash by default, so you might need to download it from Adobe. Otherwise, your Flash might be old. This is just a guess on my part, but I work with students who have this problem frequently. You might also try downloading a different browser and leave the settings on default. This is a way to check if the problem is settings or a plugin or extension on your current browser. Also, you can go to preferences--> Security and make sure JavaScript is enabled. Hope that helps.

Very good coarse. Thank you for it. But one thing you could do to make it better is to put the words you are translating from Ukrainian to English in the exercises in Cyrillic Ukrainian and not in English alphabet. It would make it a lot harder for us, but we would thank you later.

Russian has a slightly different alphabet, though they are all part of the Cyrillic one, similar to the difference between the French alphabet and English. (but a much larger difference.) Click these gray letters for more.

My father was Ukrainian - and came from Kolomyya region - Ispas which is now renamed Spas? I went to weekend school as a child, but did not do well learning Ukrainian as my mother insisted we speak English (she was English). I am now learning Ukrainian on here as I would love to go and visit family but won't until I can actually communicate with them. I know and remember the alphabet, but do struggle with pronunciation and my terrible English accent!!! There are no decent books out there and the course, whilst great, does not explain word endings for tenses, plurals etc.

They should remove the Latin option or change it to an assist. Doing the full lessons in the Romanized Ukrainian won't teach the language properly if the learner can't read in Cyrillic. It would be like learning Hebrew or Arabic in the Latin alphabets.

A link to this page at the beginning of the Ukrainian lessons on the mobile app would be very useful for most people. I had no trouble because I already know the rip usual alphabet, but I am sure a lot of people do have trouble at first. Thanks for the great app!

This is great. I looked at my keyboard and tried to figure out how to type, but I had no idea what the letters sounded like. I'll learn the alphabet first this way. Already learned a few just by reading the first unit. Looks like it'll work pretty quickly.

I am the same as the other two Jeffs. The majority of my family comes from L'vov but I was born in Canada, and I am really enjoying learning the language. When will there be other features like (when I am learning French), flash cards to keep building my vocabulary?

Me and my friend made our own flash-card things for the cyrillic alphabet when we first started on our cyrillic-language-learning adventure, and it proved to work well enough. Although my poor pronunciation would make my eastern Polish/western Ukrainian ancestors cringe.

Love this thread and all the resources, too! Unfortunately, the digital flashcards on the Flashcards Deluxe Lite app are not working. I've followed the instructions provided, but the Deck Code is not found. Can someone follow up? Would love to be able to use them for practice.